BRISTOL, R.I. — The Roger Williams University Men's Basketball team could not come away with the win over Nichols College Wednesday evening, as the Hawks fell 84-89 to the Bison.
 
In the first five minutes both teams went back and forth as it was tied 10-10 with both teams making two threes. A three-pointer from Austin Coene (Tyngsborough, Mass.) started a 7-0 run to pull away from the Bison, making it 17-10 with 13:22 left. Nichols would later cut the lead down to three with 7:24 remaining. The Hawks continued to maintain its lead as both teams continued to battle it out.
 
A layup by Coene and a three-pointer by Doug Hostetler (Somers, Conn.) extended the RWU lead to 11 (36-25). With 1:25 remaining, the Bison cut the lead back down to six with a three from Kash Jackson (Canton, Ga.). Hart in the closing seconds of the half would extend the Hawks lead back to nine with a layup as the first half ended 45-36.
 
Roger Williams shot 60 percent in the half as they made 18 of 30 shots from the field. The Bison would shoot only 40 percent, going 14-of-35 shots from the court.
 
In the second half, Marcos Echevarria (Lynn, Mass.) helped cut the lead back down to six for the Bison three minutes into the half. Nichols would later began an 8-0 run with six points from DeAnte Bruton (New London, Conn.) to them ahead of the Hawks by one.
 
With less than 10 minutes remaining, the Bison would take a lead of 69-65. Nichols extended their lead ten with Bruton making back-to-back threes to make it 79-69. Coene and Rich Pugliese (Middlebury, Conn.) later cut the Bison's lead to three with two minutes remaining (83-80). In the final seconds, RWU almost tied the game with a three-pointer, but Nichols grabbed the rebound and two free throws in the last seconds of the game put the game out of reach for the Hawks.
 
Coene led the Hawks with 33 points, four rebounds, and eight assists, while Hart had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Pugliese added 12 points and four rebounds. 
 
For the Bison, Bruton led with 32 points, three rebounds, and five steals, while Echevarria followed with 22 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Jackson and Matt Morrow (Leicester, Mass.) both scored eight points.
 
On Saturday, Roger Williams (8-9, 5-3 CCC) heads to the University of New England while Nichols (15-2, 7-1 CCC) welcomes Curry.